Tape lettering apparatus

ABSTRACT

An assembly for printing label tape including a body having tape guideways formed therein, a tape dispenser detachably mounted to the body adjacent one end of the bed and having a roll of tape disposed therein for withdrawal of a continuous length of tape therefrom into aligned registration with the guideways, a manually operable drive wheel carried by the body and having a portion engageable with and for driving the strip of tape in the guideways to a desired longitudinal position relative thereto, and a lettering template slidably carried by the body in overlying relation with the tape and having symbol openings therein selectively registrable with and for printing a surface of the tape in cooperation with a writing implement.

United States Patent 371,731 11/1907 McKelveyetal.

Inventor David W. Souza Fremont, Calif. Appl. No. 810,985 Filed Mar. 27, 1969 Patented Mar. 23, 1971 Assignee Uniline Corporation TAPE LETTERING APPARATUS 14 Claims, 16 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 7/ 14.1, 33/23, 35/37 Int. Cl B25f 1/00 Field of Search 7/ 14.1 35/37; 33/23 (K) References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,344,453 3/l944 Payne Primary Examiner-Travis S. McGehee A tlorney Warren, Rubin, Brucker and Chickering ABSTRACT: An assembly for printing label tape including a body having tape guideways formed therein, a tape dispenser detachably mounted to the body adjacent one end of the bed and having a roll of tape disposed therein for withdrawal of a continuous length of tape therefrom into aligned registration with the guideways, a manually operable drive wheel carried by the body and having a portion engageable with and for driving the strip of tape in the guideways to a desired longitudinal position relative thereto, and a lettering template slidably carried by the body in overlying relation with the tape and having symbol openings therein selectively registrable with and for printing a surface of the tape in cooperation with a writing implement.

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Artorne s TAPE LET'lllEIItWG APPARATUS The present invention relates to lettering devices of the type employing a supporting frame for receiving and holding a surface of the material to be lettered in indexed relation thereto and a lettering template slidably carried by the frame for overiyi g reciprocation relative to such surface and for guiding a writing implement thereover.

it is often desirable to letter or print messages on strips of elongate tape, such as label tape of the type having a pressuresensitive adhesive surface for easy pressed-on mounting. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus employing a lettering template or guide for forming accurately spaced and aligned letters on strips of label tape and to do so in a manner facilitating rapid and neat workmanship by users unskilled and inexperienced in the art of draftsmanship.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a lettering device in which a continuous length of label tape is supplied in a manner such that strips thereof may be lettered and cut to any desired length.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a device in which the operator thereof may position the tape precisely relative to the lettering template and vice versa without touching the work piece, thereby avoiding smearing of inlr and/or soilage of the printed surface.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a lettering apparatus of the type characterized and achieving one or more of the above objectives together with providing versatility of application, manual portability and durable construction for long trouble-free life.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which with the foregoing will be set forth in the following description of the preferred form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawings accompanying and forming a part of the specification. it is to be understood, however, that variations in the showing made by the drawings and description may be adopted within the scope of the invention.

in the drawings:

FiG. l is a top perspective view of the tape lettering apparatus constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FlG. 2 is a top plan view of the lettering apparatus shown in FIG. ll;

Fit]. 3 is a fragmental sectional view taken generally along lines 33 of FIG. 2;

FllG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines M of the apparatus shown in FllG. 2;

FlG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the device, also taken along lines 33 of FM]. 2;

FiG. i5 is an end plan view as seen from arrows 6-6 of FIG.

FlG. 7 is an end plan view as seen from arrows 7-7 of FlG.

FlG. is an end view of the tape lettering apparatus illustrating a first guide position for a'narrow width lettering temlate;

p FlG. i also an end view, illustrates a second guide position for the same template shown in FlG. ti;

FlG. W is an end view illustrating the guide position for a larger width lettering guide;

FIG. llt is a side plan view of a narrow width tape dispenser and label tape carried thereby for use in combination with the apparatus shown in FiG. i;

FiG. i2 is an assembly view of the tape dispenser and label tape of HG. llll;

FlG. i3 is a top plan view of the dispenser and tape shown in FlG. ll ll;

FiG. id is a top plan view of a dispenser of the type shown by HG. lit for carrying and dispensing a relatively wider label tape as shown in FllG. il;

FiG. i5 is a cross-sectional view of the label tape employed in the preferred form of the invention; and

FllG. it; is a cross-sectional view of an alternative preferred form of the label tape.

With reference to FIG. l, the tape lettering apparatus of the present invention comprises a body 26) preferably of small size and weight to permit manual carriage thereof. and having an elongate bed 2t formed in a top 22 and providing a guideway adapted to receive in longitudinal registration therewith a strip of label tape 23; an elongate lettering template 24 slidably carried by body 26 in guide portions 26 and 27 thereof for overlying longitudinal reciprocation relative to bed 211 and tape 23 and having symbol openings 2% for guiding a pen 29 used in marking an upper exposed surface of the tape; and a tape dispenser 31! detachably mounted to body 20 adjacent one end of bed 21 (as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 5) and carrying a roll of tape for withdrawal of a continuous length of tape 23 therefrom through a discharge opening 32 into longitudinally aligned registration with bed 21. By virtue of this construction, label tape is readily at hand for precise formation of letters longitudinally therealong by means of selective reciprocation of template 2d and manipulation of pen 29. Furthermore, any desired length of message may be printed merely by withdrawing a suitable amount of tape 23 from dispenser 31 into printing position with bed 2ll. Also, by the present invention a manually operated tape drive mechanism is provided whereby a knob 7ll as shown in FIG. i may be rotated to effect displacement and precise longitudinal positioning of tape 23 relative to bed 2ll and template 24.

-With reference to FIGS. 2 and 5, bed 21 and guide portions 26 and 27 are preferably extended over the entire length of body top 22 to open at a tape exit end 33 and a tape entry end 3d thereof permitting overlapping extension of tape 23 and overlapping reciprocation of template 24 relative to bed 21. In this manner, any of a plurality of symbol openings, such as opening 28, formed along the full length of template 24, may be selectively reciprocated to a desired overlying position relative to bed 2i for marking a surface portion of the tape located thereat. For this purpose and to reduce the overall length of the assembly, dispenser 3ll is attached to end 34 of body 20 with its housing extending longitudinally outwardly therefrom and with an upper wall portion 36 below the plane of bed 21, as best shown in FIG. 5. Template 24 may thereby reciprocate over dispenser 3i with tape 23 fed between wall portion 36 and the underneath face of the template.

Dispenser 3ll also shown in FIG. id is in this instance formed to retain a roll 37 of relatively wide tape 23 which extends substantially across the exposed width of bed 21 as shown in FIG. 3. A smaller width tape and dispenser therefor is also provided as shown by dispenser 3h, tape roll 39 and strip of tape ill in FIGS. lit-l3. Both dispensers 311 and 3d are provided in the form of disposable plastic cartridges, having a two-part construction as shown for dispenser 33 (FIG. 12) by housing portions 42 and 43. A slot is formed in a sidewall as of portion 42 (corresponding to opening 32 for dispenser 31) whereby roll 33 is disposed within housing 42 with tape il extending outwardly through opening 44 and thereafter housing portion :33 is connected and secured to portion 32 by means of a suitable adhesive and notch and flange portions d7 and ib. Each of dispensers 3i and 33 is provided with a mounting flange, flanges 43 and 5t respectively, which is slidably locked into position with a mated mounting flange 32 disposed at end 3 of body 20 as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 5. To provide for easy loading of the tape into the machine bed, flanges 49 and M are disposed on sidewalls 53 and 54 respectively, opposite tape discharge openings 32 and Ml. As shown for FIG. ll, tape 23 is withdrawn outwardly from a remote side of the housing relative to end 34 and bed 2i terminating therewith to form a natural loop 56 extending up and around dispenser 3ll adjacent top wall 36 thereof and into aligned registration with an entry guideway fonncd with bed Ell. Any excess in loop 36, which is noted does not interfere with the overlapping reciprocation of template 24, will be talcen up as tape 23 is extended further inwardly of bed 2i. When the tape within the dispenser is depleted, the latter is quickly detached, disposed of and replaced by a full dispenser. A variety of colors and types of tape may be stored within separate dispensers which are kept on hand for ready use with the machine.

To provide for lateral indexing of the relatively wide tape 23, bed 21 as shown in FIGS. 610 is formed with a depressed wall 61 sloped inwardly and forming a shoulder 62 adjacent to guide portion 26 guiding an edge of tape 23 and maintaining the surface thereof flush with bed 21 and confronting a shoulder 63 formed adjacent portion 27 guiding an opposite edge of the tape. Portions of wall 61 of bed 21 adjacent ends 33 and 34 are beveled to provide tape guide ramps 64, 65, 66 and 67. Aligned ramps 64 and 65 cofunction with aligned ramps 66 and. 67 to guide the relatively wide tape 23 into slidable indexed relation with wall 61 and shoulders 62 and 63. Ramps 66 and 67 having a width corresponding to the relatively narrower tape 41, serve to maintain tape 41 in guided laterally indexed relationship adjacent guide portion 27 of bed 21, and for this purpose ramps 66 and 67 are of smaller slope and recessed relative to adjacent ramps 64 and 65 as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5. As shown for template 24 in FIG. and template 69 in FIGS. 8 and 9, guide portions 26 and 27 of body are formed such as to hold the template in overlying slidable engagement with the tape maintaining the latter flush with bottom wall 61 and in seated registration with ramps 64 and 65 for tape 23 and in seated registration with ramps 66 and 67 for the smaller width tape 41 (not shown in FIGS. 8-40).

As a principal feature of the present invention, the tape may be displaced longitudinally within bed 21 without the operator touching the tape itself. Moreover longitudinal tape registration may be precisely and easily set for accurate spacing between the symbols printed thereon. For this purpose, a manually rotatable knob 71 is connected with a tape drive wheel 72 having an axis carried by body 20 transverse to bed 21 and a drive surface 73 frictionally engaged with a marginal edge of the tape for longitudinal displacement thereof by manual operation of knob 71. In this instance, shaft 74 of wheel 72 is disposed for rotation in body openings 75 and 76 as shown in FIG. 4 with wheel 72 secured to shaft 74 for rotation therewith by means of a hub 77, a set screw 78 threadably carried by hub 77 and engageable with a flat 79 on axle 74 as best shown in FIG. 4. Wheel 72 is thereby positioned generally beneath bed 21 with a peripheral drive surface 73 projecting slightly above the plane thereof for engagement with an underneath or interior marginal edge surface of the driven tape. Surface 73 is here provided by the exterior radial surface of an O-ring 81 formed of resiliently compressible material and mounted within circumferential land 82 of wheel 72. With reference to FIGS. 810, the marginal drive edge above noted is indicated at 83 as shown for tape 23, wherein an interior surface 84 of marginal edge 83 is frictionally engaged with drive surface 73 of wheel 72.

In order to maintain the edge of the tape in positive traction with wheel 72, guide portion 27 as shown in FIGS. 2-4 is formed as a shelf overhanging bed 21 and the marginal edge 83 of the tape as shown in FIG. 8, and an arcuate shoe member 86 formed of resilient material is carried by guide portion 27 with a convex surface 87 aligned with and facing drive surface 73 of wheel 72. Member 86 is supported by mounting means 88 and 89 carried by portion 27 and securing opposed ends of member 86. A set screw 91 threadably carried by portion 27 is rotatably adjustable to engage the upper concave surface of member 86 to provide means for adjusting the compression force on the marginal edge of the tape carried between surfaces 87 and 73, respectively of member 86 and wheel 72, thereby insuring positive drive communication between rotation of knob 71 and longitudinal movement of tape 23 as seen in FIG. 10.

As an advantageous feature in combination with the drive mechanism, the marginal edge of a preferred tape construction provides a lubricated surface for free-sliding engagement with member 86 to effect a smooth longitudinal tape drive facilitating precise longitudinal positioning of the tape relative to bed 21. With reference to FIGS. 8-10 and 15, tape 23 is a laminated pressure-sensitive label tape composed of a layer of label stock 96 having a pressure-sensitive adhesive surface 97 and a layer of release paper 98 having a nonadherent,

lubricated surface 99 removably affixed to adhesive surface 97 as shown. Surface 99 is so treated to render release paper 98 peelable from adhesive surface 97 immediately prior to mounting of layer 96 by pressed-on adhesion to the article to be labeled. Surface 99 may be treated with a silicon compound, for example, to provide the desired nonadhesivc characteristic with an attendant slippery or lubricated quality. Layer 96 is generally provided by a high quality paper or a plastic material having good imprinting characteristics on the exposed surface thereof, while release paper layer 98 is usually of a low-cost paper which is disposable after separation thereof from layer 96. Other materials than paper may be employed for release layer 98, such as plastic. Such tapes are known and commercially available usually in a form in which the label stock layer 96 and release paper layer 98 are coterminous along the edges thereof. However, according to the present invention, release paper layer 98 together with surface 99 thereof is extended to project laterally beyond an edge 101 of layer 96 to form the marginal drive edge 83 positioned and cofunctioning with shoe member 86 and drive wheel 72 as shown in FIG. 10. As surface 99 exhibits an inherent slippery or lubricated quality, it rides freely under the compressive engagement of surface 87 of shoe member 86 therewith. In contrast, the lower surface 84 of release paper layer 98 has a relatively nonslippery texture providing a suitable tractive surface for maintaining frictional engagement with surface 73 of wheel 72. Additionally, by virtue of the provision for marginal driving edge 83 has an extension from label stock 96, the driving mechanism may be and is maintained out of the way of the free longitudinal reciprocation of template 24 and the full width of label stock layer 96 is exposed for printing.

Not only is it desirable to provide constant positive drive communication between the drive wheel and the tape as above, but it is also advantageous to restrain or dampen the longitudinal movement of tape 23 within bed 21 so as to avoid accidental displacement thereof during lettering. This is accomplished by adjusting the compression of member 86 (by screw 91) on tape edge 83 to cause radial deformation of the portion of O-ring 81 engaged therewith. In this manner resistance to rotation of wheel 72 is created. Alternately, a break arm member 106 may be provided as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, secured at one end by screw 107 fastened through member 106 into stand 108 depending from body 20. Member 106 which is formed of a resilient material extends from stand 108 and compressively engages an O-ring 109 carried in a land 111 of hub 77. Thus, accidental longitudinal displacement of tape 23, such as by reciprocation of template 24 or longitudinal movement of pen 29 thereover, is avoided while at the same time maintaining positive drive engagement of the tape with wheel 72 for positioning the former by calculated rotation of knob 71. It will be appreciated that arm 106 may alternatively be disposed to engage a lower surface of ring 81 to achieve this damping feature.

As a further feature of the present invention, guide portions 26 and 27 as shown in FIGS. 8-10 are formed so as to receive and guide at least two different sized templates each of which may be provided with relatively large and small symbol openings in accordance with the template size. Furthermore, guide portion 26 is formed such that the relatively smaller template 69 is provided with more than one lateral guide position relative to bed 21 whereby two laterally spaced rows of characters may be printed on tape 23. With reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, template 69 is shown in first and second lateral guide positions respectively. In FIG. 8, the symbol openings, such as opening 116 of the template, are arranged for lettering a laterally left-hand row of characters on the exposed surface of tape 23 while in FIG. 9 the same symbols are disposed in overlying relationship with and for lettering the laterally right-hand side of the tape. Guide portion 26 is formed as a longitudinally extending shelf overlying a lateral portion of bed 21 and having a longitudinally extending slotted recess 117 facing bed 21. Template 69 is formed with a raised or ridge portion 117 along an edge thereof slidably mated with recess 117 to form a guideway positioning template 169 for longitudinal reciprocation in the first printing position as shown in MG. d. The width of template 6,9 is selected such that opposed edges i119 and H2 1 thereof are received in longitudinally slidable engagement with confronting shoulders i122 and E23 carried by guide portions 2d and 2'7, respectively, providing a second lateral guide position as shown in FlG. 1. in this instance, template s9 is formed with two symmetrical halves defined by a pair of longitudinally extending laterally spaced recesses i246 and 1227 located on opposite faces of the template, wherein symbol openings, such as opening lilo, are in registration with the recesses. in this manner, and by way of example, symbol open ing liti is superimposed over tape 23 and spaced therefrom to prevent smearing of ink on the writing surface of the tape. Furthermore, as shown in FllG. 8, recess R26 provides and defines ridge llll'i while recess 1127 similarly provides a ridge ll2$ extending along an opposite edge and projecting from the opposite face of template as from ridge 1117. Thus, template 6% as shown in EEG. ii, may be flipped over and arranged with recess 112p and the symbol openings carried thereby in the same position shown for recess l2? and symbol opening lllb. Similarly, template" as may be flipped over from the position shown in H6. 9 to dispose recess 126 in the position shown for recess 1127. in the case of the narrower width tape, such as tape dll shown in M68. llll2 recess ll27 as shown in Fit]. 9 is disposed for lettering a single row along the narrow width tape which if shown would be in aligned registration with ramp 6'7.

With reference to FllG. lit), template. 24 similarly formed but larger than template as, is comprised of two symmetrical halves, with longitudinally extending and oppositely facing recesses i311 and R32 each having symbol openings, such as openings R33 and 134 in registration therewith. By virtue of the greater width of template 24, each of symbol openings 1133 and 13d may be sufficiently large to provide one row of letters havinga heightapproaching that of the width of tape 23. Recesses i3? and 1134 in this instance define ridges 13b and i337, which as shown by HG. lid for ridge 136 are slidably mated to and engageable with a second longitudinally extending slotted recess 113% formed in guide portion 26 and facing bed M to provide with shoulder i123 of guide portion 27 guiding reciprocation of template 24 relative to bed 2i.

Another feature of the present invention is to provide a means for cutting strips of tape to a desired length, whereby suitable and equal end margins may be provided after printing a desired message. For this purpose, and with reference to FlGS. 2, 3, d and d, tape exit end Eldof body Zil is equipped with a cutoff knife Mill rotatably carried by mounting screw M2 for arcuate displacement in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of bed Eli and having a cutting edge M3 cooperating with a stationary member Md. Member M4, extends transversely to bed 21 along end 33 beneath the plane of bed 23 and is held in place by mounting screws idle and i142. Knife Mill is provided with a manually engageable right angle flange M7 positioned to extend away from bed M to expose the lettered tape carried therein for visual lineup of the printed matter with knife 141 so as to sever the tape with desired end margins.

in operation of the apparatus and with reference to FIG. i, first, dispenser 31. is attached to body 2d and tape 23 fed into bed 21 a sufficient distance so that marginal edge d3 thereof engages the drive wheel whereby further movement of the tape is accomplished by rotation of knob 7i. A selected template, such as template 2% is placed in slidable engagement with guide portions 265 and 2'7 and a desired symbol opening, such as opening 2% is indexed to a desired position relative to tape 23. indexing marks i 55 carried by body 2% adjacent knob 71 facilitate positioning of the symbol opening. Pen 29 is thereupon used to imprint the selected character by an ink transfer or the like to the exterior exposed surface of tape 23. lily a succession of template and tape indexing and printing steps employing knob 71 for precise orientation of the tape, a desired message is quickly, neatly and accurately formed.

Thereafter, tape 23 is further advanced by knob 71 to provide for a desired end of margin between the last letter of the message and the position of knife Ml at tape discharge end Flange lid-7 is used to manually rotate knife Ml to sever the tape thereat. When used withpressure sensitive tape as described herein for tapes 23 and ill, the release paper backing layer 98 as shown in FIG. 15 is peeled away from label stock layer as whereupon the latter is mounted to the surface to be labeled.

in many cases, it may be desired to mount the label on finely finished articles, such as expensive wood furniture. in this instance, adhesive surface 97 of label stock 96 may tend to damage the articles surface upon removal of the label. To minimize this problem, an alternative preferred embodiment of the pressure-sensitive label tape of the present invention is shown in FllG. l6, wherein corresponding components of the tape shown in lFlG. 15 are designated with the same reference numeral together with a postscript a. In this instance, release paper 98a is provided with a score Md extending longitudinally of the tape adjacent marginal driving edge 83a and inwardly spaced from edge Miller of label stock %a. By means of score Mb provided as shown, a strip of the release paper between edge 83a and score M3 may be stripped away from label stock 96a to expose a minor edge portion of adhesive surface 97a for pressed-on contact with the surface to be labeled. In this manner a minimum of adhesive surface is used in contact with the article thereby minimizing the possibility of defacement thereof.

I claim:

i. A tape lettering apparatus comprising, a body providing a bed and guideways thereon dimensioned to receive a length of tape therein entered from one end of said guidcways and discharged from the opposite end of said guideways, a tape dispenser carried by said body and formed for retaining a roll of tape and having a tape discharge passage formed for posi tioning tape withdrawn therefrom into registration with the tape entry end of said guideways for movement of a continuous length of tape from said dispenser through said guideways and from the discharging end thereof, and a lettering template slidably carried by said body for reciprocation in overlying relation to said bed and guideways and having symbol openings therein registrable with tape positioned in said guideways.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said dispenser comprises a housing for a roll of tape formed with a discharge opening for withdrawing tape from said housing in a direction lying in the plane of. said roll, and means demountably securing said housing to said body adjacent said tape entry end of said guideways and with said plane coinciding with the longitudinal axis of said guideways.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim l, wherein said template is of elongate form and is mounted for longitudinal reciprocation in parallel overlying relationship to the length of said tape.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said dispenser is positioned adjacent said tape entry end of said guideways and is formed to support said roll with the plane thereof coinciding with the longitudinal axis of said guideways.

5 An apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein said bed is formed with an elongate depressed portion having a base for supporting said tape and sidewalls defining said guideways, said depressed portion having a depth positioning the exterior surface of said tape substantially flush with said bed, and means forming a second guideway for supporting said template for guided longitudinal reciprocation on said bed in superimposed parallel relation to said depressed portion and tape therein.

An apparatus as defined in claim 5, said bed being formed with beveled ramp portions at and extending from the opposite ends of said bed, said ramp portions having a width less than the width of said depressed portion for laterally positioning a relatively smaller width tape therein.

7. An apparatus as defined in claim 6, said bed being formed with additional aligned beveled ramp portions adjacent to and having a smaller slope than said first named ramp portions and being adapted for guiding a relatively larger width tape.

8. A tape lettering apparatus comprising, a body providing a bed and guideways thereon dimensioned to receive a length of tape therein entered from one end of said guideways and discharged from the opposite end of said guideways for movement of a continuous length of tape therethrough, a lettering template slidably carried by said body for reciprocation in overlying relation to said bed and guideways and having symbol openings therein registrable with tape positioned in said guideways, means overlying said bed and positioned for sliding engagement with and support of the exterior surface of a marginal edge portion of said tape, and a manually operable tape drive wheel mounted on said body for rotation in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of said guideways and intersecting said means and with the periphery of said wheel spaced from said means for positioning said periphery in frictional drive engagement with the interior surface of said marginal edge portion for longitudinal advancement of said tape in said guideways upon rotation of said wheel.

9. An apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said body is formed with a shelf overhanging said bed and said means comprises a resilient shoe member mounted on said shelf and having a convex surface depending therefrom and lying in the plane of and juxtaposed to the periphery of said wheel for resiliently gripping the opposed interior and exterior surfaces of the tape therebetween.

10. An apparatus as defined in claim 8, and means carried by said body dampening free rotational movement of said wheel for restraining the tape against unintentional longitudinal displacement thereof relative to said bed.

11. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said body is formed with a shelf overlying said bed, and said shelf and tem plate are formed with engageable guideways for guided longitudinal reciprocation of said template.

12. An apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein said guideways comprise a longitudinally extending recess in one face of said template defining a ridge along one edge thereof and a slot formed in the surface of said shelf confronting said bed and dimensioned for receipt of said ridge for guided longitudinal reciprocation of said template in one lettering position, and opposed spaced-apart parallel shoulders on said shelf and body parallel to said slot and positioned for slidably receiving therebetween the opposite longitudinal edges of said template for guided longitudinal reciprocation thereof in a second lettering position.

13. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, and a cutoff knife mounted on said body at the tape discharge end of said guideways for arcuate displacement in a plane perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of said guideways for severing said tape.

14. An apparatus as defined in claim 8, and label tape comprising, adhesively secured layers of label stock and release paper, said layer of release paper having a width greater than the width of said layer'of label stock to provide a free marginal edge portion of said release paper engaged between said means and wheel. 

1. A tape lettering apparatus comprising, a body providing a bed and guideways thereon dimensioned to receive a length of tape therein entered from one end of said guideways and discharged from the opposite end of said guideways, a tape dispenser carried by said body and formed for retaining a roll of tape and having a tape discharge passage formed for positioning tape withdrawn therefrom into registration with the tape entry end of said guideways for movement of a continuous length of tape from said dispenser through said guideways and from the discharging end thereof, and a lettering template slidably carried by said body for reciprocation in overlying relation to said bed and guideways and having symbol openings therein registrable with tape positioned in said guideways.
 2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said dispenser comprises a housing for a roll of tape formed with a discharge opening for withdrawing tape from said housing in a direction lying in the plane of said roll, and means demountably securing said housing to said body adjacent said tape entry end of said guideways and with said plane coinciding with the longitudinal axis of said guideways.
 3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said template is of elongate form and is mounted for longitudinal reciprocation in parallel overlying relationship to the length of said tape.
 4. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said dispenser is positioned adjacent said tape entry end of said guideways and is formed to support said roll with the plane thereof coinciding with the longitudinal axis of said guideways.
 5. An apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein said bed is formed with an elongate depressed portion having a base for supporting said tape and sidewalls defining said guideways, said depressed portion having a depth positioning the exterior surface of said tape substantially flush with said bed, and means forming a second guideway for supporting said template for guided longitudinal reciprocation on said bed in superimposed parallel relation to said depressed portion and tape therein.
 6. An apparatus as defined in claim 5, said bed being formed with beveled ramp portions at and extending from the opposite ends of said bed, said ramp portions having a width less than the width of said depressed portion for laterally positioning a relatively smaller width tape therein.
 7. An apparatus as defined in claim 6, said bed being formed with additional aligned beveled ramp portions adjacent to and having a smaller slope than said first named ramp portions and being adapted for guiding a relatively larger width tape.
 8. A tape lettering apparatus comprising, a body providing a bed and guideways thereon dimensioned to receive a length of tape therein entered from one end of said guideways and discharged from the opposite end of said guideways for movement of a continuous length of tape therethrough, a lettering template slidably carried by said body for reciprocation in overlying relation to said bed and guideways and having symbol openings therein registrable with tape positioned in said guideways, means overlying said bed and positioned for sliding engagement with and support of the exterior surface of a marginal edge portion of said tape, and a manually operable tape drive wheel mounted on said body for rotation in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of said guideways and intersecting said means and with the periphery of said wheel spaced from said means for positioning said periphery in frictional drive engagement with the interior surface of said marginal edge portion for longitudinal advancement of said tape in said guideways upon rotation of said wheel.
 9. An apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said body is formed with a shelf overhanging said bed and said means comprises a resilient shoe Member mounted on said shelf and having a convex surface depending therefrom and lying in the plane of and juxtaposed to the periphery of said wheel for resiliently gripping the opposed interior and exterior surfaces of the tape therebetween.
 10. An apparatus as defined in claim 8, and means carried by said body dampening free rotational movement of said wheel for restraining the tape against unintentional longitudinal displacement thereof relative to said bed.
 11. An apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said body is formed with a shelf overlying said bed, and said shelf and template are formed with engageable guideways for guided longitudinal reciprocation of said template.
 12. An apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein said guideways comprise a longitudinally extending recess in one face of said template defining a ridge along one edge thereof and a slot formed in the surface of said shelf confronting said bed and dimensioned for receipt of said ridge for guided longitudinal reciprocation of said template in one lettering position, and opposed spaced-apart parallel shoulders on said shelf and body parallel to said slot and positioned for slidably receiving therebetween the opposite longitudinal edges of said template for guided longitudinal reciprocation thereof in a second lettering position.
 13. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, and a cutoff knife mounted on said body at the tape discharge end of said guideways for arcuate displacement in a plane perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of said guideways for severing said tape.
 14. An apparatus as defined in claim 8, and label tape comprising, adhesively secured layers of label stock and release paper, said layer of release paper having a width greater than the width of said layer of label stock to provide a free marginal edge portion of said release paper engaged between said means and wheel. 